Project: Senior Citizens Overcoming Barriers by Joining Fun Activities

Acronym	Join-in (Reference Number: aal-2009-2-065)
Duration	01/11/2010 - 01/11/2013
Project Topic	Helping people to escape from social isolation is a major issue in elderly care. Activities offered by social services do often not reach them. There are several reasons for this: social deprivation, low self-esteem or physical inability. Social isolation and health are closely related and may lead to a variety of physical disorders and even depression. The project aims at providing the methodology and the technologies for elderly persons to participate in social activities and have fun via digital media. Our main target group are those who are most threatened by isolation spending most of their time at home all by themselves. Join-in will assess possibilities counteracting isolation and find out whether these are the same in the different participating countries. The project will create an environment that lets elderly people socialise, play (social) computer games and exercise (exergames) either on a PC or on a TV using a low-cost set-top box. Multiplayer video gaming is seen as a key activity for attracting senior citizens to the network. Its positive effect is well proven and it enables socialising with other generations, e.g. the grandchildren. The use of the TV with a customisable set-top box ensures that persons will not even have to get acquainted with a new technology. The project will develop a set-top box based on Free Open Source Software; adapt video games to meet the special needs of the elderly; and customise access facilities such as controllers which take into account the constraints of senior citizens. Physical activity sessions will be offered and the need and acceptance of exergames evaluated. The benefits of regular exercise have been confirmed by several studies: The effects of the various activities will be thoroughly evaluated concerning acceptance, implications on the individual, socio-economic effects and business opportunities. User groups will be involved in Germany, Norway, Hungary and Ireland. A pilot implementation is scheduled.
Website	visit project website
Network	AAL
Call	Call 2 – SOCIAL INTERACTION

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	Bethesda Hospital of the Hungarian Reformed Church		Hungary
	Bull Hungary		Hungary
	Diakonie München-Moosach		Germany
	Dr.Hein GmbH		Germany
	Gmedia Solutions LTD		Ireland
	HappyWise Ltd.		Finland
	Helmholtz Zentrum München German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH)		Germany
	Institute of Technology		Ireland
	Johannita Segítő Szolgálat		Hungary
	Northern Research Institute		Norway
	Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine		Norway
	PASIFE GmbH		Germany
	Praxisnetz GO IN e.V.		Germany
	Valentia Technologies Ltd		Ireland